Downtown Disney Marketplace New name (1997) for Disney Village Marketplace, which had opened in March 1975 as Lake Buena Vista Village, became Walt Disney World Village in 1977, and then Disney Village Marketplace in 1989. A variety of shops are clustered along the shore of the Buena Vista Lagoon next to Pleasure Island, about five miles from Magic Kingdom Park. The centerpiece was the Captain’s Tower, under which seasonal merchandise displays were featured. On September 7, 1997, the Village Marketplace became part of the Downtown Disney complex and was renamed Downtown Disney Marketplace.
